January i, 1886.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



483 



furnish vegetables for the coohes, so would its large pea- 

 sliaped flowers aud its long sleniier pods. I feel certain 

 that a trial of it would meet with approval, as far 

 ;ia ihii proper amount of shodiity for pla.ntatifms iscin- 

 ctrned. In L'pper India, itis called 'Agist ' ; in Tamil, 

 'Agati' (and probably from this it.s botanical generic name 

 haslneu taken) ;and in Sinhalt-se. * Katuru Murunga.' 



A ft-w words now alout Oranges and Lemons. In ibe 

 Cfylou ijUi-erxer of the 18th November I >ee that some- 

 one has been energetic enough to sand Ceylon oranges 

 to Kuglaud, aud that they reach there in good con- 

 dition. I think there is an opening for the orange tratle 

 nearer Ceylou than Knglaud. In the iJombay market, 

 orange*, lemons, and limes sell at a high price. It 

 may not perhaps be generally known that Jioinbay im- 

 ports oranges all tho way from Zanzibar (called Mo- 

 zambique oranges), and sweet lemous (called iimfts; all 

 the way from Mu-cat in Arabia. Bombay in addition 

 imports oranges from Poena and the surrounding country 

 and all the way from Xagpore, in the Central Provinceji 

 of India. The P. k-O. steamer takes about four days 

 from Colombo to rioml)ay, andabouta wt-ek to Calcutta, 

 another goo-1 market for Ceylon oranges. ToCalmtta, 

 oranges (called * Kambia Nimbiio ') are brought all the 

 way from Sylhet to Goalundo by country boats, _ and 

 thence to the capital probably by rail. Oranges fetch 

 a high price in Calcutta. A writer iu the Indian 

 Ayruti'turi^t of the lOth October last, signing himself 

 " Olil Mallee," says that "he realizes 8 annas a score 

 for the .Sylhet oranges he grows in Ifengal ; that bis 

 income from orange growing is K700 per acre at 10 

 feet apart (he says this is too close), which only costs 

 him RPiO in expenses, so that he netts K600 per acre. 

 He considers well decayed night-soil, cow-dungr, and 

 bUck tank soil, with an ailmixture of slaked lime, or old 

 mortar finely powdered, the best for oranges. He 

 buds on the ** kbatta. " or sour orange. He grows the 

 Sylhet variety principally. 



The commercial value of the ordinary products of 

 the orange and lemon tribe are too well-known to need 

 mention here, but the medicinal value of the fruit of 

 the citrus has only lately been brought pron)inentIy 

 before the medical prcfe.-sion. I mean Dr. Maglieri's 

 ** decoction of lemon," I will here give the result of 

 my experiments with the decoction of lemon, which 

 will sufficiently indicate its value, as a remedial agent. 

 Th« experiments in each class am notjsolitary but ma,if/. 



A. — In simple <|Uolidiau fever (that is without ;iny 

 other complication), even if it is of some days' standing, 

 the decoction of lemon, given only once a day, acts like 

 cinchona febrifuge. 



IS. — Iq enlarged spleen of recent occurrence (that is 

 of soo)e months' staniling, not jye^ri), there is only one 

 remedy I know which e-|uals the decoction of lemon 

 in power, and tliat is "fluoride of ammonium." In 

 many cases this de'U)ction has removed enlarged spleens 

 of some months' standing, even when the spleen reached 

 within an inch of the middle line of the abdomen, in 

 Usit than one mouth, sometimes much more rapidly. 



C — In lo.'-fi of appetite and weakness after fever, or 

 other debilitating ailments, I am not ac<juainte<l with 

 any drug or remedy that picks one up so quickly. 

 After the second or ihird dose, the appetite not only 

 becomes normal, but the digestive powers keeps pace 

 with the improveil appetite, and vigor pervades the body. 



It wid be seen that the lemon contains a drug of no 

 mean value. Tu p!ant( rs in districts subject to fever, 

 the lemon would be a cheap and most efficient remedy 

 always clo.-.e at band. I have tried experiments with 

 the decoction of tho Malta lemon, which is the same as 

 the Italian, Sicilian, and Portuguese lemon, the identical 

 one sold in thel.jndou fruit shops. I have also trii d 

 the common small sour lime, which is found all ovir 

 Ceylon, aud all over India. I have also tried a tliird 

 kind, the *khatt;'i' or ' karn* ' of India. All appeared 

 to be e«|ually vahi ible at remedial agents in the abovc- 

 mentione«t ailments. The choiei-, I think, lies between 

 the more or less pleasant flavor of the decoction, and I 

 think the best flavored one is that of the Malta lemon. I 

 I ljelie.re that this important remedial property iscon- 

 tained in all the soor fruit of the citrus, even in the ' 

 unripe orange, but of this I cannot yet speak with 



certainty. It is not improbable that at no distant period 

 the active medicinal princijial of the citrus will be isol- 

 ated and then orange and lemon plantations would prob- 

 ably beconte more valuable, but in the meitntime the 

 result of the foregoing experiments, and the value of 

 the decoction of the fresh fruit may be worth know- 

 ing. As everyone may not have read how thig decoc- 

 tion is made, I give it here. Take one .Malta lemon, 

 or a sour orange or three sour limes, cut them into thin 

 slices, rind, pulp and .^11, add three breakfast cupfuls 

 of water, and buil in a glazed i)ot,or enamelled sauce- 

 pan, until the liquid is reduced to about one cupful. 

 Then leave it exposed all uiglit to the air, and next 

 mornin^T strain and squeeze llirough a rag, and drink 

 the liquid early, on an empty stomach. My experiments 

 have all been made with one do>e a ilay, but there is 

 no reason why, in urgent ca«es, two dosos a day should 

 not be given, one in the morning and one after 

 midday. In that case a dot'.hle quantity of everything 

 should be used and boiled down to one-third and 

 after straining tlivided into the two doses. Jn Kandy 

 I have found two kinds of citrus which would be in- 

 valuable for this preparation : one tho ' cidrang,' a large 

 round lemon, which would do for two doses with 

 double tlie amount of water ; the other is the '■natron,* 

 an oblonj^Tt warty, sour citron, which would be enough 

 for one decoction. 



I think the way to set about making orange plant- 

 ations, for commercial purposes, is not to plant any 

 kind on a large scale, but to try all the good kinds on 

 a small scale first (it is only the choice kinds that 

 will hear the cost of transport, in competition with those 

 already in the market), and ascertain which variety 

 does best in any particular locality. I think nothing 

 is more certain than the fact that all varieties do not 

 thrive equally well in all localities. Y r instant, the 

 Sylhet atd Nagpore oranges do well in Lucknow. while 

 the Delhi Suutara does badly, and the Manrlaiin is 

 quite un.suited to the climate of Oudh and the N. W. P. 

 I think the best kinds for experimenting with are the 

 following: — The Sylhet, the Nagpore, the Uelbi Sun- 

 tara, the refd Mandarin (totally different from those 

 called so in Colombo and Kandy), obtainable from 

 Lucknovv or Jlalta ; the Malta VdooJ and egg oranges 

 (these might be more readily and cheaply obtained 

 from IMalta, but the egg orange is also obtai'-able in 

 Lucknow, and the bIoi»d (.'range in Gujerat. Punjab) ; 

 finally the Zanzibar orange. Those who know the latter 

 state that it is even better than Malta or Spanish 

 oranges. Government might introduce the plants^ bud 

 them on common kinds, and distribute them. Ex- 

 periments might be made also by seed, obtiined from 

 Caleutta. Bombay, Zanzibar and other places. 



Finally it should not be forgotion that choice froit 

 is only to be had by (ultivotion, especially where the 

 climate and soil are not rxactf;/ what is needed by 

 the orange and lemon trees. Besides ordinary manures 

 the citrus are benefited by wood-ashes and leaf mould, 

 and in particular want Ume m the soil, as itis a large 

 ingredient in the ashes of the orange noor/. Iron in 

 the soil is, I think, of great inqtortance. It probably 

 gives flavour and juiciness. This latter ingredient how- 

 ever is not wanting in many soils of Ceylon, as Sir 

 KmersoD Tennent says the ' patana ' lands are im- 

 pregnated withiiron. The annual fall of orange leaves 

 should on no account be removed from an orange plant- 

 ation ; when they decay, they form the best manure 

 for the orange and lemon trees. The packing for ex- 

 portation should present no difficulty in dry weather, 

 the orange being ripe in December and January. Kach 

 orange should be wrapped in a hit of tough tissue- 

 paper aud twirled at both ends (hair-curling paper, or 

 tough bamboo paper, would answer). Then the oranges 

 so wfHpped should be packed closely in <//y boxes 

 (about 2 feet X 1 foot x I foot). The object of the paper 

 is to absorb any moisture and the close packing to 

 prevent wabbling and bruising. Before packing the 

 oranges should be aired for a few days on lofts or 

 sheh'es to rid them of excess of moisture, and, vto.-tt 

 important, shoidd be handled cartfulhf at alt times to 

 prevent braising. E. B^NAVIA, m. n.. 



Brigade Surgeon, I. .Af. D. 



